I'm Not a Flame-Chaser - Chapter 586

"Why would Delta attack me? You also participated in the Great Elf Tournament, and it seems you didn't team up with Delta."

Delta and Yae Kasumi acted together, and Himeko and Rita acted together. The fact that these four did not choose to rest at the same hotel already speaks volumes.

However, after he asked the question, Himeko and Rita fell silent at the same time. The red-haired girl, who had been happily drinking beer, stopped smiling, while the maid smiled and closed her eyes.

At this moment, Seele seemed to sense that the atmosphere had changed.

She nervously put her legs on the ground, put on her shoes, and looked at the three silent people without saying a word...

New Testament: Afterword of the Dirac Sea: Chapter 98 Cooperation

If it were someone else participating in the Great Elf Tournament and wanting to win, Lin could understand. The allure of "a wish" is simply too great. Human desires are endless, and things that can satisfy desires to the greatest extent will naturally be pursued by people.

But the people on the Hyperion should know very well that the power of this so-called "wish" is limited and its allure is not that strong.

"Clatter..."

Outside the eaves, the soft laughter of rain could be heard, bestowing its moist grace upon this "no man's land".

Lin made no move. It was past midnight, and the entire Changkong City was under a ceasefire, meaning that even if Himeko and Rita wanted to make a move, they couldn't do anything to him.

"Did Miss Delta lay a hand on you?" In the almost frozen atmosphere, Rita smiled easily. "Perhaps you went too far in teasing her before, so she got angry. Oh, I almost forgot you don't remember what happened during this time."

"..."

You can't believe even 90% of what Rita says with a smile, let alone half of it.

If it's said that the more beautiful a woman is, the more likely she is to lie, then Rita must be one of the most beautiful women in the world... Of course, in reality, her appearance does indeed live up to that title, so Lin naturally wouldn't believe a word of her seemingly joking remarks.

"... What exactly is the reason that this competition has forced you all to fight yourselves?"

Lin stared intently at the two people who were avoiding his gaze, and questioned them in a hoarse voice.

It's impossible to get any information out of Rita, the maid whose mental fortitude is so strong that she can stare at Lin for an hour without changing her expression. So, the only option is to target Himeko.

Lin's gaze then fell on the red-haired girl with a ponytail who was carrying a wine jug and whistling lightly, trying to ignore his gaze.

She took off her shoes, crossed her legs in white stockings on the chair, and her eyes darted around aimlessly.

"..."

"Oh dear, it's raining. I wonder if it will be sunny tomorrow?"

"..."

"It's great that you can still buy alcohol in this city."

"..."

"Hey, there are four of us, how about we play Ludo?"

"..."

Under Lin's unwavering, cold gaze, Himeko finally lost her temper. Her eyes narrowed, and she raised her leg, pointing her toes through her stockings at Lin Qing's throat in a very unladylike manner, shouting, "What are you staring at me for! Do you think I'm easy to bully?! It's precisely because of your attitude that we're planning to win!"

"...What did you say?"

Himeko realized she had given herself away after saying it, so she immediately put her feet down, picked up her beer and chugged it down, staring at Lin and Seele with hostility.

But Lin couldn't pretend he hadn't heard; his heterochromatic eyes were fixed on the red-haired girl who was sweating profusely.

Just as the situation was getting out of control, Rita stepped in to smooth things over. She smiled, stood up, dusted off imaginary dust from her skirt, and smiled at Lin and Seele: "Captain and Miss Seele, there's no need to worry. This competition is essentially just 'entertainment'."

"What exactly happened, Rita?"

Lin stared intently at every detail on Rita's face. He was now certain that these two were hiding something from him, and it was the kind of thing that would provoke a fierce backlash if he found out.

"Um..."

Rita was expected to tell the truth or remain silent under Lin's questioning, but she continued to chuckle and said in an unpredictable tone, "We are competitors now, Captain. If you want to know the truth, you should at least offer corresponding bargaining chips, shouldn't you?"

"..."

Lin met her gaze, a hint of mockery in his wine-red eyes.

"... What can we exchange?" Lin knew that even if they continued to confront each other, he probably wouldn't get anything out of her. He knew Rita too well; the only way to get anything out of this maid was for her to have a sudden burst of compassion.

So, taking a step back for now, Lin decided to listen to her conditions first.

Rita held up a finger, a glint in her eyes. "It's simple, what is the only focus of this competition?"

Poké Ball.

Without needing to say more, Lin already understood what she meant.

Without knowing why they need Poké Ball, help them get more Poké Ball.

Lin should have agreed to this form of cooperation, but it seems that the competition is not as simple as he thought, and helping Rita collect Poké Ball may not be a good thing.

"..."

"..."

The situation reached a stalemate again. Rita was not in a hurry. She sat in her chair, gently stroking her long, gray-gold hair, and waited with a smile for Lin's reply.

Seeing that Himeko had intimidated Rita, Himeko happily downed her beer in one gulp, then shut her mouth and decided not to reveal a single word.

"Hehe... Your hesitation is unlike your usual decisive self, so let me tell you some information first."

Just as the air seemed to solidify to the point of almost freezing, Rita smiled faintly, breaking the chill, and took out... two black and white balls from her pocket.

"Our 'Riding Bird Team' has two Poké Ball, while the 'Riding Cat Team' and 'Rider Tanuki Squad' each have two Poké Ball. The whereabouts of the remaining Poké Ball are unknown."

"You only need to help us obtain one of the Poké Balls from one of the teams, and I will tell you everything in detail. Then, whether you want to compete with us for the Poké Ball or continue our cooperation is fine, okay?"

This is a good deal.

There's no need to snatch all the remaining Poké Ball and hand them over to her; she's given the power to choose for herself. Lin can even snatch the other Poké Ball and keep some for himself, deciding how to proceed after Rita explains the situation.

But would this maid be willing to suffer such a loss? For someone who is essentially at a disadvantage if there's no profit to be made, would you really agree to her smiling "cooperation"? In the end, she'll probably just be used, right?

"Captain, you still don't believe me?"

The maid sighed softly, her expression gradually turning into a complex sense of loss.

Even Seele couldn't help but be moved by Rita's abandoned expression, and looked at the silent Lin, hesitant to speak.

Lin, what are you thinking about?

This maid saved him twice: once by picking him up and once by helping him repair the damage to his consciousness.

She has never revealed her true nature, and she always arranges everything in an orderly manner. Even though she is always thinking about something on her own, she has never framed Lin.

So, should we believe her?

Lin glanced at Seele, then at Himeko.

He sighed, and amidst the maid's smile, quietly spoke...

The New Testament: Afterword of the Dirac Sea: Chapter 99 The Past of Lin and Delta

"Brother Lin, are you and those... sisters very close?"

After seeing Rita and Himeko off, Lin stood by the window, lost in thought under the starlight, when Seele spoke timidly, her clear voice echoing in the quiet night sky.

"..."

"Brother Lin?"

"... Let's continue with our afternoon topic."

What's the topic for this afternoon?

Seele thought for a while before she recalled that after they escaped Delta and Yae Kasumi's attack, she asked Lin if he and Delta had a grudge, and Lin replied, "We'll talk about it later."

"Um... so, that..."

"Her name is Delta."

"Does Delta have a grudge against you?"

Lin didn't know.

He didn't even know the attitude of that always smiling maid, so how could he know what they were thinking?

Perhaps it would be better to speak out and let others judge.

Thinking of this, Lin's thoughts drifted back a little, back to the day he met those pink eyes that were indifferent yet stubborn.

"When I met her, we got into a fight for some reason, and she won."

Lin Cong never mentioned the specifics of what happened with Delta Rita, and neither did Delta. They maintained the same tacit understanding. Even when Lin told Rita about what happened in the World Bubble, it was only a simple explanation, just like now.

"Did you two start fighting the moment you met?" Seele tilted her head. "That might actually make her dislike you..."

"Then... she encountered something in her world that required my help, so I stayed in her world temporarily. But the problems we encountered were more complicated than we thought. And then, something happened."

"She wanted to save everyone, but the people in her world abandoned her in order to survive."

In the wrong world and at the wrong time, that small, lonely girl faced malice from the entire world.

Beside her stood two swords, one blue and one red, her head bowed, blood dripping from her forehead to her feet, standing before countless people, the target of everyone's accusations.

"But she still chose to stick to her own path. We eventually worked together to resolve the global disaster. In the newly beautiful world, she lost her home."

"Then I asked her if she wanted to come with me."

"She told me she didn't want to, so I kept asking her again and again."

Wait a moment...

Seele's expression was somewhat strange. She stared at Lin, who was lost in thought, reminiscing about the past. Seeing that he was really serious about describing the scene at that time, her expression became even more subtle.

"In the end, she said impatiently, 'Beat her and then come with me.' I said, 'Okay.'"

Seele hesitated, but asked with a hint of certainty, "Did Brother Lin win?"

"Well, it's not that I beat her, it's that she didn't even lift a finger."

At that moment, when they were supposed to fight their final battle, a revenge match for Lin Yi to avenge his previous defeat, the cherry-scented girl, just a second before her fist landed on him, grabbed his collar, her face trembling weakly as she sobbed.

Like ice and snow melting away, that battle ended before it even began.

Afterwards, the girl, now cold and aloof, warned Lin not to tell anyone what had happened, and thus she became a member of the Hyperion.

Recalling her red-eyed, cat-like, fierce threat, she didn't resemble the ruthless killer she would become later.

"So, that means that in the end, Brother Lin brought the homeless Sister Delta back to... your home? And Sister Delta went with you voluntarily? In the end, let alone fighting again, she didn't even get to throw the first punch before she voluntarily lost to you?" Seele chuckled dryly as she reorganized what Lin had said.

Seele recalled the terrifying girl who sprang up from the ground and swung her sword, looking like a demon king. Just the sight of her eyes sent chills down her spine.

She never imagined that Delta and Lin's past would be like this.

Lin thought there was nothing wrong with what Seele said, so he nodded.

"Haha..." Seele laughed weakly for a moment, then continued with a stiff smile, "What happened after Brother Lin brought Sister Delta back?"

"After we got back... her attitude became even colder than before. We often went a whole day without exchanging a single word, and even when we did, it was only about things like the work of guarding the Hyperion."

This is why Lin thinks Delta might hate him. No matter how you look at it, Delta is quite indifferent to him, even more so than when they were adventuring and solving disasters together in the World Bubble, like an iceberg that hasn't thawed.

"Well... Brother Lin, did you take the initiative to chat with her?"

"Why should you take the initiative to chat with her?" Lin asked Seele, who was becoming increasingly embarrassed, with great confusion. "Isn't it best not to bother her when there's nothing to do?"

"That makes sense, hahaha..."

Seele smiled wryly and agreed, feeling a little sorry for the cold, pink-haired lady.

"So do you think she has a grudge against me?" Lin asked Seele calmly, while Xi'er was also at a loss for words.

How should one answer this? It seems that Delta's recent act of wanting to kill him without hesitation has become reasonable. Saying there's a grudge doesn't seem to be wrong...

However, Lin can't be blamed either. From his few words, it's clear that Delta's personality is probably similar to his. Both are cold and rational in their dealings with people and things. It's normal for Lin to use his own thoughts to speculate about Delta. Coupled with the repulsive force generated by similar personalities, it's not surprising that things ended up like this.

Seele stammered out her thoughts, "Seele thinks there's no real hatred between you. It seems like there's just some misunderstanding between you. Once the misunderstanding is cleared up, you can make up."

"Is that so..."

It's always good to take outsiders' opinions into consideration. Lin nodded and kept it in mind. Then, glancing at the time, he noticed it was getting late and told Seele to go back to her room to rest and prepare for tomorrow's battle.

That's right, Lin agreed to cooperate with Rita. The Riding Fish Team and the Riding Bird Team would split up to steal Poké Ball from other teams. Lin only needed to grab two and give them to Rita, and she would tell him why the Hyperion crew was participating in the Great Elf Tournament. Moreover, even if he got more Poké Ball, he didn't have to give them to Rita voluntarily.

Of course, one should always be wary of others, especially Rita. Now that they've officially entered the competition, Lin will definitely not let her guard down. The Riding Bird Team is just a collaborator; if they want to win, they will inevitably target the Riding Fish Team, so a breakdown in their cooperation is only a matter of time.

Just as Lin was lying in bed preparing to rest, a sound that sent chills down his spine rang out from outside the window.

"Sizzle."